David Bade (1970) has always had a strong social engagement in his art. In 2006 he founded with Tirzo Martha the Instituto Buena Bista in Curaçao where young people can develop their artistic talents. He also organized projects where the local community is invited to participate in making art. In his current project We OK he and seven young artists collaborate with young people in Breda. The results will be shown in an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Breda as of 25 april 2026.

In his own work David Bade often addresses social themes like discrimination, inequality, and the might of economic power structures which he often depicts in a provocative and absurdist way. The humor in his work makes the sensitive topics accessible and opens up a positive approach to social issues. In the exhibition at the gallery David Bade presents several new spatial works in which traditional sculptures of saints are transformed. In No Non a statue of the Virgin Mary gets a new face and is given a pair of boxing gloves. He also shows new drawings and paintings that for instance depict cheerful wolves or chickens and birds revolting against the bio industry. In another work an alternative mass is celebrated in honour of the Mother, the Daughter and the Sacred Animal. David Bade wants his images to be inviting and contagious, fitting into what he calls the science of happiness.